0000000000590349
AUTHOR
Catherine Bougerol
Reversed polarized emission in highly strained a-plane GaN/AlN multiple quantum wells
The polarization of the emission from a set of highly strained $a$-plane GaN/AlN multiple quantum wells of varying well widths has been studied. A single photoluminescence peak is observed that shifts to higher energies as the quantum well thickness decreases due to quantum confinement. The emitted light is linearly polarized. For the thinnest samples the preferential polarization direction is perpendicular to the wurtzite $c$ axis with a degree of polarization that decreases with increasing well width. However, for the thickest well the preferred polarization direction is parallel to the $c$ axis. Raman scattering, x-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy studies have been p…
The structural properties of GaN/AlN core-shell nanocolumn heterostructures.
International audience; The growth and structural properties of GaN/AlN core-shell nanowire heterostructures have been studied using a combination of resonant x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy experiments. For a GaN core of 20 nm diameter on average surrounded by a homogeneous AlN shell, the built-in strain in GaN is found to agree with theoretical calculations performed using a valence force field model. It is then concluded that for an AlN thickness up to at least 12 nm both core and shell are in elastic equilibrium. However, in the case of an inhomogeneous growth of the AlN shell caused by the presence of steps on the sides of the …
Dopant radial inhomogeneity in Mg-doped GaN nanowires
International audience; Using atom probe tomography, it is demonstrated that Mg doping of GaN nanowires grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy results in a marked radial inhomogeneity, namely a higher Mg content in the periphery of the nanowires. This spatial inhomogeneity is attributed to a preferential incorporation of Mg through the m-plane sidewalls of nanowires and is related to the formation of a Mg-rich surface which is stabilized by hydrogen. This is further supported by Raman spectroscopy experiments which give evidence of Mg-H complexes in the doped nanowires. A Mg doping mechanism such as this, specific to nanowires, may lead to higher levels of Mg doping than in layers, boosting the po…
Growth of zinc-blende GaN on muscovite mica by molecular beam epitaxy
Abstract The mechanisms of plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxial growth of GaN on muscovite mica were investigated. Using a battery of techniques, including scanning and transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, cathodoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction, it was possible to establish that, in spite of the lattice symmetry mismatch, GaN grows in epitaxial relationship with mica, with the [11–20] GaN direction parallel to [010] direction of mica. GaN layers could be easily detached from the substrate via the delamination of the upper layers of the mica itself, discarding the hypothesis of a van der Waals growth mode. Mixture of wurtzite (hexagonal) and z…
Growth, structural and optical properties of GaN/AlN and GaN/GaInN nanowire heterostructures
Abstract After discussing the GaN NW nucleation issue, we will present the structural properties of axial and radial (i.e. core/shell) GaN/AlN NW heterostructures and adress the issue of critical thickness during the growth of such heterostructures. Next, we will present the growth of InGaN NWs on a GaN NW base. It will be shown that the morphology and structural properties of the InGaN NW sections depend on the In content: for high In content a flat top is observed and plastic relaxation is occuring, with mismatch dislocations formed at the InGaN/GaN interface. By contrast, for In content below 25% InGaN NWs exhibit a pencil-like shape assigned to a purely elastic strain relaxation process…
Impact of kinetics on the growth of GaN on graphene by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy.
International audience; The growth of GaN on graphene by molecular beam epitaxy was investigated. The most stable epitaxial relationship, i.e. [00.1]-oriented grains, is obtained at high temperature and N-rich conditions, which match those for nanowire growth. Alternatively, at moderate temperature and Ga-rich conditions, several metastable orientations are observed at the nucleation stage, which evolve preferentially towards [00.1]-oriented grains. The dependence of the nucleation regime on growth conditions was assigned to Ga adatom kinetics. This statement is consistent with the calculated graphene/GaN in-plane lattice coincidence and supported by a combination of transmission electron m…
The role of surface diffusion in the growth mechanism of III-nitride nanowires and nanotubes.
Abstract The spontaneous growth of GaN nanowires (NWs) in absence of catalyst is controlled by the Ga flux impinging both directly on the top and on the side walls and diffusing to the top. The presence of diffusion barriers on the top surface and at the frontier between the top and the sidewalls, however, causes an inhomogeneous distribution of Ga adatoms at the NW top surface resulting in a GaN accumulation in its periphery. The increased nucleation rate in the periphery promotes the spontaneous formation of superlattices in InGaN and AlGaN NWs. In the case of AlN NWs, the presence of Mg can enhance the otherwise short Al diffusion length along the sidewalls inducing the formation of AlN …
Growth, structural and optical properties of AlGaN nanowires in the whole composition range.
International audience; We report on the growth of AlxGa1-xN nanowires by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy for x in the 0.3-0.8 range. Based on a combination of macro- and micro-photoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy experiments, it is shown that the structural and optical properties of AlGaN NWs are governed by the presence of compositional fluctuations associated with strongly localized electronic states. A growth model is proposed, which suggests that, depending on growth temperature and metal adatom density, macroscopic composition fluctuations are mostly of kinetic origin and are directly related to the nucleation of the AlGaN na…
Nucleation of GaN nanowires grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy: The effect of temperature
Abstract The growth of GaN nanowires by means of plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy directly on Si(1 1 1) has been investigated as a function of temperature. Statistical analysis of scanning electron microscopy pictures taken for different growth temperatures has revealed that density, diameter, length and length dispersion of nanowires were strongly dependent on temperature. Length dispersion, in particular, was found to be significant at high temperature. These features have been assigned to the different duration of the nucleation process with temperature, namely to the dependence with temperature of the time necessary for the size increase of the three-dimensional precursors up to a…
The structural properties of GaN insertions in GaN/AlN nanocolumn heterostructures.
The strain state of 1 and 2.5 nm thick GaN insertions in GaN/AlN nanocolumn heterostructures has been studied by means of a combination of high resolution transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and theoretical modeling. It is found that 2.5 nm thick GaN insertions are partially relaxed, which has been attributed to the presence of dislocations in the external AlN capping layer, in close relationship with the morphology of GaN insertions and with the AlN capping mechanism. The observed plastic relaxation in AlN is consistent with the small critical thickness expected for GaN/AlN radial heterostructures.
The influence of AlN buffer over the polarity and the nucleation of self-organized GaN nanowires
We experimentally investigate the influence of AlN buffer growth on the nucleation and the polarity of a self-organized assembly of GaN nanowires (NWs) grown on Si. Two complementary growth mechanisms for AlN buffer deposited on Si are demonstrated. Both emphasize the aggregation of Si on the AlN surface and the growth of large cubic crystallites, namely, AlN pedestals. Further growths of GaN NWs assembly reveal that the GaN 2D layer found at the bottom of the NW assembly is the result of the coalescence of Ga-polar pyramids, whereas AlN pedestals are observed as preferential but not exclusive NW nucleation sites. NWs are N-polar or exhibit inversion domains with a Ga-polar core/N-polar she…